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Talk:Shield-maiden/@comment-70.56.17.186-20180305085804
Did Ragnar Lodbrok exist? Ragnar Loðbrók (Hairy Britches) Sigurdsson, did exist, he lived from circa 750-845CE. He was the son of Sigurd Anulo son of Randver son of Radbart Fürst Gardarige, the King of Gerdarige-Russia He is my maternal 38th great-grandfather. He was the Kongen af danskerne og svenskerne, until his death at the hands of the King of Northumberland, at the age of 95. The king ordered him thrown into a pit of venomous snakes. While he may not have been the first Viking raider into what is now England or the first into Francia, he did raid those areas. The real Ragnar, had long flowing hair and beard, not a shaven head. The show, “Vikings,” has taken a lot of historical events and actions of different Vikings leaders, and attributed them to one man. This show, was made to entertain the masses, yet it also holds a spark of truth to it. I have been researching my Viking ancestors since the 1970's, before home computers. That is after hearing tales of the family history, from World War II in the Pacific to the Patriots of the American Revolution, to the ‘cousins‘ lost on the battlefields of Europe, back to the days when the Vikings ruled the seas to the days of Ancient Egypt. That is a ton of books on history to read, to learn the truth of the events told. When not on duty, I always had a bunch of books on history to read while lounging in the barracks that I kept in my locker. What is the real truth of that time, we will never really know for sure, every few years someone believes they need to change the what and the why things happened in the past, to suit their needs. I have seen a lot of that just in American History alone. A lot of you who take exception to the ideas presented in this show, have taken the meaning of Saga as just a story. In those days up into recent history, sagas were the oral histories of a people and the bards were the keepers of those sagas. That was the entertainment of the time. At a feast, the king or chief would call for the telling of the tales of the people and the bard would recite the histories or special parts of the histories. The question of Shield-Maidens. As for the existence of Shield-maidens, were they real or not, well in my family history there are stories of Shield-maidens fighting to protect their homes and children from marauders and men bent on rape, pillage and plunder. They fought with the dagger, the axe, the spear and the sword or any other weapon that came to hand. These were the stay at home women, the ones who did not follow their men on raids. Women of those days were not the soft cutesy little girls of today, the ones that would scream their brains out if a sow bug walked across the floor in front of them. Back to the Viking women. Did some of them fight with their men on raids, will never really know for sure. I have found in my research of my family history enough anecdotal evidence, that they very well may have. I do know that Scandinavian women, especially Viking women were strong women and may have fought in all aspects of the Viking wars. Even after the age of the Vikings, pioneer women, from those lands, fought as viciously as their men did in defense of their homes and families. From shield walls to one on one fights with others warriors to defending pioneer homes against outlaws and marauding Indian warriors, there has always been a little Shield-Maiden in every Scandinavian woman. So do not scoff at the idea of Shield-Maidens fighting alongside of their men during raids Until someone comes up with time travel, we will never really know, we just have to go by the oral histories of our families. The one thing that I have learned in my almost 70 years, is that most men, especially American men, men hate strong women, cannot deal with women they cannot dominate. In my earlier years I trained with the war axe and the sword both with and without a shield. I learned long ago that men are afraid of strong women. Most of the comments that I have read here, show that the people making those comments have not taken the time to research and read books such as Saxo Grammaticus's "The History of the Danes" all nine volumes or any of the "Poetic Edda" a collection of old Norse Poems. Or picking up a book like William R. Short's "Icelanders in the Viking Age, The People of the Sagas," they are more than just entertaining. Do some deep research away from the internet, you all might be surprised at what you might learn. That means you will need to pick up a book and actually read it, without someone telling you what is in it and nobody to argue with about the validity of it. //es//A Proud Honorable Disabled American Veteran, 1965-1994 - Combat Medicine and Pharmacy. A Combat Veteran. A Viking Shield-Maiden by training and in my genes and in my heart.